How many cooks does it take to bake a brand new racing series? Lots. It's Scot Elkins's job to make sure they don't ruin it.

Racing wonks want to know: With the new United Sports Car Racing (USCR) set to tie up former ALMS and Grand-Am racing in a single series in 2014, how will the schedule and tech rules shake out? Everyone else wants to know why they should care?

On a special /SHAKEDOWNTrackdown interview segment from Mosport, Leo Parente gets the full scoop on what's up with USCR for 2014 from Elkins, VP of competition and technical regulations for the USCR, and currently chief operating officer for the American Le Mans Series.

To be clear, the 2014 USCR race schedule and the tech rules have yet to be finalized. But Elkins gives insight into the process, an update on the sticking points still being worked out, and the timeline to unite ALMS and Grand-Am races at the Daytona 24hr race in early 2014.

For racing wonks, it's the tech rules and schedule that will determine the competitive and political dynamic surrounding USCR racing. For everyone else, these things will determine whether or not they'll want to bother watching USCR racing at all.